Max Weber’s ethics

Abstract

I offer a critique of Weber’s two ethics. The first layer is internal and concerned with their logics. The second layer considers the external knowledge necessary to apply them appropriately and argues that it is extremely difficult to come by. The third layer connects Weber’s ethics to his politics because the choice of either ethic in almost any context is a value choice. This is apparent in Weber’s application of these ethics to Germany foreign policy. He used his ethics in a rhetorical way to justify his values rather than using these values as a guide to policy assessment. This reversal is endemic to politics. One response might be to stipulate beforehand the kinds of policies that are unacceptable in democracies regardless of their expected outcomes.